Norm Macdonald: Eddie Murphy Rejected Offer to Play Cosby On ‘SNL 40’ Because “He Will Not Kick a Man When he Is Down”

Comedian Norm Macdonald took to Twitter Wednesday evening to share a long but fascinating account about the behind-the-scenes drama that preceded “Saturday Night Live’s” 40th anniversary extravaganza.

Eddie Murphy, who made a brief cameo on the NBC special, was apparently in talks to impersonate Bill Cosby in “Celebrity Jeopardy,” a skit Macdonald wrote and originally created for the show, but Murphy turned down the offer the night before the telecast.

Kenan Thompson eventually played Cosby in the revived sketch, which also featured Will Ferrell (Alex Trebek), Macdonald (Burt Reynolds), Darrell Hammond (Sean Connery) and Kate McKinnon (Justin Bieber).

“Among many other things, this show was to be the return of Eddie Murphy,” Macdonald wrote.

Macdonald went on to shower the “rock star” actor-comedian, now 58, with praise on Twitter for his contributions to the NBC series in the early ’80s, when “SNL” was nearly canceled because of low ratings.

But his affiliation with “SNL” would come to an abrupt halt in the early ’90s when David Spade, during a segment on “Weekend Update” quipped, “Look children, a falling star,” as Murphy’s image was displayed in the background.

The actor-comedian was so upset by the joke, according to Macdonald, that he refused to attend the show’s 25th anniversary in 1999. He also turned down several hosting gigs.

“David is a very kind man,” Macdonald said, “but his remark was not.”

After more than 30 years away from “SNL,” Murphy returned to the halls of Studio 8H on Saturday night for rehearsal, to the disbelief of many.